IMMOB 10

Chapter 10

Her voice was a tone higher and sharper than usual.

Seo Chang-soo’s eyes widened in shock.

“Wh-what did you say?”

“It’s been bothering me since yesterday. I don’t like that you insisted on calling for me even though I’m sick.”

Harry perfectly mimicked Jung Hee-sun’s arrogant attitude, staring fixedly at Seo Chang-soo from behind her sunglasses.

Perhaps because the invisible gaze felt even more threatening, Seo Chang-soo’s cheek muscles trembled.

“B-bothering you? Displeasing? Is that how you speak to an elder…!”

“Be careful. I’m quite sensitive, and when something bothers me, I can’t hold back.”

Nowhere to be found was the Harry who had knelt and begged five years ago.

The corner of Harry’s mouth twisted coldly.

“Hah, honestly…! Unbelievable…!”

Seo Chang-soo, as if dumbfounded, couldn’t continue and only trembled his lips.

Unable to contain his anger, he spun around and got into his car.

Tae-min approached and firmly wrapped his arm around Harry’s shoulder.

Unlike her sharp voice, Harry’s body was trembling faintly.

Tae-min silently pulled that small, fragile body into his embrace, hiding her.

“I’ll be back.”

Tae-min’s low voice resonated in Harry’s ear.

Harry looked up at him.

His face remained unreadable, but the arm around her was solid.

Harry turned away as if fleeing and walked toward the annex.

Hearing the car depart, she looked back.

Staring at Chang-soo’s receding car, she murmured coldly.

‘This is just the beginning, Seo Chang-soo. I’ll crush every single thing you have.’

*

BS Group headquarters, main conference room.

A tense atmosphere hung among the executives who had already taken their seats when Seo Chang-soo and Tae-min entered.

The executives who had been seated pushed back their chairs and stood in unison.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Director.”

“This investment attraction is all thanks to you, Director. Truly impressive.”

Their greetings were servile and polite, but not a single person met Tae-min’s eyes directly.

To the executives, Seo Tae-min was still the unpleasant and chilling monster of BS Group.

Their fear of him wasn’t simply due to his overwhelming abilities.

It was because of his exploits, widely circulated within the industry.

An interview he’d given after dismantling and selling off a company in Wall Street that employed thousands of people.

‘How do I feel right now? It’s closer to a sense of conquest than guilt.’

Even when a knife, swung by someone bearing a grudge, was embedded in his body, he hadn’t fallen.

Instead, he’d pulled the knife from his own body and stabbed it into his assailant’s neck.

Witness accounts said that in his eyes, there was only a dry indifference, as if he were simply removing an annoying obstacle.

A monster incapable of feeling pain or a shred of compassion for others.

That monster had finally returned to Korea and was now looking down upon them with a cold gaze.

Bang—!

Young-joon roughly flung open the conference room door and entered.

His disheveled shirt collar and bloodshot eyes reeked of alcohol.

Even at the noisy commotion, Tae-min didn’t turn his head, casually flipping through documents.

“Let’s begin the meeting.”

Financial graphs appeared on the main screen.

The 200 billion won invested by Gold Finance.

Though it was under the guise of new business funds, the top priority was repaying the 150 billion won in short-term debt maturing next month.

Seo Chang-soo spoke heavily.

“From now on, Director Seo will be in charge of the new business.”

“Chairman!”

Young-joon couldn’t contain himself and slammed the table, rising.

Instantly, the executives’ gazes turned cold.

In the past, they would have backed Young-joon while watching Seo Chairman’s reaction, but now it was different.

“Director Seo’s capabilities have already been proven at the American branch.”

“Exactly. It’s time for him to show them in Korea as well.”

As the executives openly lined up behind Tae-min, Young-joon’s lips trembled.

“I’ve been planning the new business from the very start. Don’t make a hasty decision here—let’s review it a bit more…”

“I’ve made my decision.”

At Seo Chang-soo’s firm words, Young-joon’s face contorted.

Chang-soo never reversed his decisions.

“Executive Seo, assist him from the side.”

At the humiliating instruction to act as an assistant, Young-joon gritted his teeth and sat back down.

Tae-min looked at Young-joon with indifferent eyes and tilted his head slightly.

*

Just as the meeting ended and Tae-min was rising from his seat.

A vibration buzzed in his pocket.

Walking toward the door, Tae-min answered the call.

“Speak.”

―We’ve completely lost track of Jung Hee-sun. No contact from the kidnappers, and no movement from Chairman Jung’s side either.

Tae-min’s brow furrowed deeply.

A kidnapping with no ransom demand.

If not for money, what could be the purpose of abducting Jung Hee-sun?

Just then, a sharp voice flew from behind and struck him.

“Seo Tae-min!”

Young-joon was approaching with long strides.

“Keep looking.”

As he ended the call, Young-joon stood before him, fuming with anger.

“How dare you steal my work?”

“Didn’t you hear what the Chairman said? We’re supposed to help each other.”

Tae-min stared at Young-joon with indifferent, emotionless eyes.

At that cold gaze, Young-joon’s face twisted viciously.

“Help? You want me to help you?”

Without blinking, Tae-min stepped right up to Young-joon’s nose.

Overwhelmed by the pressure, Young-joon’s breath grew ragged.

“Not that I need Executive Seo’s help, of course.”

“What?”

“Let’s each do our best in our respective positions. After all, there’s only one seat.”

Tae-min’s gaze turned toward the head seat at the center of the conference room.

Seo Chang-soo’s chair.

At that blatant ambition, Young-joon’s face contorted hideously.

“Hah! You bastard…! How dare you eye that? Watch your step. Before I kill you.”

A murderous aura, mixed with the stench of alcohol, fell before Tae-min.

But a faint, dry smile spread across Tae-min’s lips.

“Executive Seo.”

Tae-min called out lowly, pressing his lips close to Young-joon’s ear.

“Go ahead and kill me.”

Then, as if whispering, he murmured lowly.

“It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Twisting one corner of his mouth at the frozen Young-joon, Tae-min turned away.

Left alone, Young-joon stood frozen, unable to even breathe.

*

Despite the broad daylight, a suffocating stillness lingered around the annex.

Cutting through that silence, Eun-jung walked, following the employee with a tense expression.

“This way, please.”

Stepping inside the annex, a lavish yet coldly atmospheric reception room appeared.

As the guiding employee bowed politely and disappeared, Eun-jung finally swallowed the dry gulp she’d been holding.

“Ha, seriously… what is going on.”

Eun-jung smoothed her clothes with trembling hands and clutched her bag strap tightly.

She’d lost sleep over the news that Jung Hee-sun, the only daughter of Gold Finance, had specifically called for her.

How was she supposed to appease the famously arrogant Jung Hee-sun? Was she trying to pin the blame for the wedding collapse on [The Heritage]?

Her mind was in turmoil.

Before long, the reception room door opened and Jung Hee-sun appeared.

Eun-jung bowed her head deeply toward the woman entering with her face half-hidden behind large sunglasses.

“I’m Kim Eun-jung from [The Heritage]. I heard you were looking for me…”

Eun-jung’s cowering voice echoed in the reception room.

But no answer came back.

Instead, the woman seated on the sofa slowly removed her sunglasses with slender fingers.

Puzzled, Eun-jung cautiously raised her head—and her eyes widened as if they might pop out.

“…Harry? Ban Harry! Wh-why are you here?”

“Eun-jung, keep your voice down.”

Harry hurriedly clamped her hand over Eun-jung’s mouth.